Traveling contact for railway telephones, telegraphs, or the like.



I No. 7l4,|89. Patented Nov. 25, I902.

- A. D. JONES.

TRAVELING CONTACT FOR RAILWAY TELEPHONES, TELEGRAPHS', OR THE LIKE.

4 (Appliqaltion filed Apr. 4, 1902.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets.$heet l.

m: mums FETERS coy. mowdmq. wumucmn. 0. c4 5 N0: 7|4,l89. Patented Nov.-25, I902.

A. D. JONES. TB AV EUNG GONTACT. FOB BMLWAY TELEPHONES, TELEGRAPHS, ORTHE LIKE.

- v (Application flied Apr. 4, 1902.

' (No man.) a shets-sheet 2.

'No 7|4,|89. Patented Nov. 25,1902.

A; n. JONES. U v E TRAVELING CONTACT FOB RAILWAY TELEPHONES, TELEGRAP HSOR THE LIKE.

(Application filed hp. 4, 1902.)

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

, fiwezil'n Y 'THE norms PETERS co Pncmu'ma. WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVA D. JONES, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, AS SIGNOR OF FORTY-SEVENONE-HUNDREDTHS TO JOHN C. STROTHER AND OSCAR FENLEY, OF

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

l TRAVELING CONTACT FOR RAILWAY TELEPHONES, TELEGRAPHS, OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 714,189, dated November25, 1902.

Application filed April 4:. 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVA D. JoNEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State ofKentucky,

5 haveinventedcertainnewandusefulImprovements in Traveling Contacts forRailway Telephones, Telegraphs, or the Like; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such IO as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same.

Myinvention relates to certain new and useful improvements in travelingcontacts particularly adapted for use in communicating to and fromtrains telegraphic, telephonic, and other electrical signals andmessages.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents in side elevation aportion of a locomotive provided with a preferred form or embodiment ofmy invention. Fig. 2 represents a rear end view of the locomotive-caband traveling contact and illustrates one of the supporting-poles forthe line-wire. Fig. 3 represents the traveling-contact devices on alarger scale. Fig. 4 represents a sectional View on a still largerscale, and Fig. 5 represents the absorbent pad and its envelop or casingconstituting one of the elements of my invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout theseveral views.

In the drawings the traveling contact and I its operating devices areillustrated as applied to the cab of a locomotive-engine. While I findit convenient and preferable to so dispose the traveling contact and itsoperating devices, yet I do not limit myself thereto, for

the reason that in some instances it may be found desirable to connectthem to some other 0 part of the train and to place them under thecharge of some one other than the engineer as, for instance, theoperator having in charge the telegraphic or telephonic apparatus uponthe train.

The main characteristic feature of my invention consists in theemployment of a sliding contact in the form of an absorbent pad adaptedto be kept in a moistened condition through the intermediacy of acurrent of 50 steam derived, preferably, from the locomo- SerialNo.101,384- (No model.)

tive-boiler and which on its way to the absorbent pad passes through abody of soluble chemicals (suchas common salt, saltpeter, or the like)of such a character as to increase the conductivity of the pad. I findthat by the employment of a sliding contact of this character continuoustelephonic and telegraphic communications can be maintained between arapidly-moving train and a station along the line or betweenrapidlymoving trains despite the jolting and jarring to which thetraveling contacts are necessarily subjected.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention I construct the absorbentpad or of leather or other suitable material, providing it with a seriesof perforations b, which I pack tightly with fibrous material 0 of anysuitable kind as, for instance,cotton-batting. This absorbent pad I mayconveniently insert within a casing or envelop cl, provided with asimilar series of apertures e. By this expedient the leather pad mayconveniently be removed from the casing 01 and replaced by another padwhen the original pad becomes worn. Moreover, in order to quicklyreplace one pad by another at a station or elsewhere during a temporaryhalt of the train the entire envelop d, together with the containedpad,may be removed from the inclosing holder A, within which it is.normally held by means of the screws f. .The holder A is open at itsends for the insertion and removal of the pad and its casing. At itsupper portion the holder Ais surmounted by a receptacle B, containing areticulated bottom upon which is adapted to rest common salt, saltpeter,or other soluble chemical. A supply-pipe C, preferably of rubber tubing,conveys steam to the receptacle B, the other end of the pipe connectingconveniently with a pipe it, leading from the steam-dome or other sourceof steam-supply and provided with a regulating or cut-off cook 11, asshown, within easy reach of the engineer or other person having charge 5of the same, so that the amount of steam supplied may be regulated orshut off at will.

To the holder A is affixed an arm 1, connected to the cross-bar is orthe lazy-tongs D.

The cross-bar 7c is slotted, as shown, so as to I00 permit expansion andcontraction of the lazytongs, and the lower members of the lazytongs areprovided with depending lugs or cars m, which are mounted upon a rod E,so that the lazy-tongs have a capacity to swing inwardly or outwardlyupon said rod and the ears m to move toward or from each other.

In order to maintain a yielding connection between the absorbent pad ofthe traveling contact and the line-wire 72., I may provide any suitablespring connection between the cross-bar 7c of the lazy-tongs and thecabas, for instance, the resilient or elastic cord F. Furthermore, as asafeguard against the accidental falling of the contact to the groundshould it reach a place where the line-wire had become broken I provideat a somewhat higher elevation the anchoring-cord G, one end of which isconnected to the cross-bar is at the aperture r, and the other end ofwhich after passing over the pulley s is secured to the clamping-cleat1.. The telephonic, telegraphic, or signaling wire w may conveniently beled from a binding-post v to the enginecab and may thence be conveyed inthe ordinary manner by electrical couplings to the instrumentsthroughoutthe train, the return from the instrument being, preferablygrounded through the wheels of the train, or the instruments throughoutthe train might be upon a metallic circuit with the return throughanother traveling contact similar to the one shown in the drawings, buttraveling upon another line-wire.

In operation the absorbent pad should be kept moistened by the admissionof steam thereto through the supply-pipe C. On its passage through thereceptacle B the steam will dissolve and take up an appropriate quantityof the soluble salts therein contained and carry them to the absorbentpad, the condensation of the steam serving to keep the pad in amoistened condition. Any excess of steam escapes through the open endsof the holder A, so that there will be no danger of excess of pressurein the devices. The quantity of steam supplied is within easy regulationby the engineer, and it may be entirely shut off when desired-as, forinstance, when the train is at a station or when the contacts arealtogether out of use. By manipulating the handles 00 the engineer mayraise the traveling contact entirely from the line-wire n and may thentold the entire device alongside the cab, when it is desired, to put itout of use. To again extend the lazytongs and replace the travelingcontact upon the line-wire, the engineer can conveniently manipulate thehandles 00 in the opposite direction.. When one of the pads is worn orfor any other reason requires replacement, the entire envelop cl may bereadily slipped out from the holder and a substitute envelop and pad maybe inserted in its place.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim isp 1. A travelingcontact for the purposes described, comprising an absorbent pad adaptedto make sliding contact with a line conductor, a supply-pipe formaintaining the pad in a moistened condition, and an intermediatereceptacle containing soluble chemicals, substantially as described.

2. A traveling contact for the purposes described, comprising anabsorbent pad adapted to make sliding contact with a line conductor, asupply-pipe for maintaining the pad in a moistened condition, anintermediate receptacle containing soluble chemicals, and a source ofsteam-supply with which the pipe communicates, substantially asdescribed.

3. A traveling contact for the purposes described, provided with anabsorbent pad consisting of a piece of leather having a series ofapertures, containing fibrous material and a casing or envelop likewiseperforated, substantially as described.

at. A traveling contact for the purposes described, provided with anabsorbent pad, and an open-ended holder therefor, substantially asdescribed.

5. A traveling contact for the purposes described, provided with anabsorbent pad, an open-ended holder therefor, a receptacle for solublechemicals mounted upon the holder, and a supply-pipe connected to saidreceptacle, substantially as described.

6. A traveling contact for the purposes described, in combination with alazy-tongs to which said contact is connected'and a resilient cord forputting the lazy-tongs at a tension, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALVA D. JONES. Witnesses:

JAMES W. MoMULLEN, EUGENE T. STROTHER.

